Related Articles

The Met Office is forecasting cloud cover over the northern and eastern coastal areas of Scotland first thing tomorrow.

Annular eclipses occur when the Moon passes in front of the Sun. However, unlike a total eclipse, the Moon is too far away to block the Sun completely. Instead, a ring of fiery light is left hanging in the sky.

Although the annular eclipse will only be visible from the northernmost tip of Scotland and the northern isles, the rest of Britain will experience a less dramatic partial eclipse. In London, the Moon will cover slightly less than half the Sun. But from Lizard Point, Cornwall, just a small slither of the Sun will be missing.

A partial eclipse will be seen from most of Europe, the Middle East and much of central and northern Asia.

While some early risers may be tempted to take a peek, the official advice is that even at sunrise, it is too dangerous to gaze at the Sun with the naked eye.

Eclipse watchers should use a proper solar filter, or project the image of the Sun through a telescope or pair of binoculars, on to a white sheet.

Annular eclipses are more common than total eclipses, but are still rare in Britain. The last was on April 8, 1921 and then next is not due until July 23, 2093.

Viewers will need a good clear view to the north-east - ideally on the coast or a high hill. The Sun will rise at John o'Groats at 4.17am, apparently missing a large bite. The Moon will continue to cover the Sun until the annular eclipse starts at 4.46am, lasting for 90 seconds. By 5.44am the Moon will have cleared the Sun.

Dr Robin Catchpole, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, who will be watching the eclipse from Orkney, said: "It may lack the excitement of a total eclipse, but it is still visibly dramatic, particularly as it is occurring at sunrise.

"I am one of those optimistic pessimists. I tend to expect the worst but secretly I'm looking forward to it."

The Met Office said the weather forecast had echoes of the 1999 total eclipse when Cornwall was covered with cloud as the rest of the UK enjoyed clear skies.

"Most parts of Britain are likely to have a reasonable chance shot at it," a spokesman said.

"The exceptions, unfortunately, are the northern and eastern coastals areas of Scotland where there is likely to be more cloud around at the start of the day. However, you may get more breaks in cloud slightly further inland."